Improvement in abdominal supporters



M.G.BRIGGS.

improvement in Abdominal Supporters.

No. 123,326. r Patemedfeb.,1a72.

PATENT GEETGE.

MARY GEORGIANA BRIGGS, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN ABDOMINAL SUPlORTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 123,326, dated February 6, 1872.

To all to whom these presents shall come:

Be it known that I, MARY GEOEGIANA BRIGGS, Wife of Evans Elijah Briggs, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of' Massachusetts, have made an invention of certain new and useful Improvements in Abdominal Supports, to be called and known as Briggs7 Abdominal Supporter; 7 and do hereby declare the following to be a f'ull, clear, and exact de scription thereof, due reference being had to the accompanying drawing making part of' this specification, and in which- Figure l is a front View; Fig. 2, a side View of the supporter; and Fig. 3, a view of the pe rineal strap thereof.

The invention has reference to improve ments on the contrivances used in cases of prolapsus Meri 7 of every form, for the purpose of' fitting more closely to the person with less chance of displacement by movement of the body, and at the same time fulfilling far more efficiently the purpose for which it is designed. It may also be used with success in cases of hernia and other' cases of weakness of the organs incident more particularly to females, and also may be used in some of the complaints to which males are subject.

The apparatus is clearly shown in the drawing, in which similar letters of reference denote like parts, and wherein a shows the frame, preferably composed of a thin band of steel bent into the configuration shown in Figs. l and 2, and produced in halves joined or pivoted in the center, as shown at a. The ends b are turned down, as shown and provided, a-t their termination with the knobs or disks c, which may, if desired, be covered with a pad of any soft substance. d d are bars, preferably of thin steel, stretched across from side to side of the frame, and with the lower. part of the frame rounded, as shown in Fig. 2, so as to be adapted to the formation of that part part of the body they are intended to support. e e and f f are butt-ons placed on the frame a, to which are attached the ends of the perineal strap g, which may be made of any suitable or ordinary material. The bars d d may, if desired, be arranged diagonally, as indicated in Fig. l by dotted lines, and any suitable number of bars may be used, as I wish it to be clearly understood that I do not conne myself to any exact shape of outline, as that will be varied to suit the form of body of the person to whom it is applied, my invention consisting more particularly in the providing of a close and easily-fitting spring frame-work of the natural shape of the body.

The operation ofthe contrivance is as follows: The frame a being' placed in such a position that the part to be supported is firmly upheld by the bars d d and the lower part of the frame a, the ends b b pass over the hip-joints, the spring ofthe bent steel keeping both the knobs or disks c c (provided with their pads) and the bars l d pressed firmly against the person in their respective positions. The natural tendency of the contrivance in this position is to work upward, which, to a certain extent, is what is required, and it is prevented from shifting by the perineal straps, which, attached at one end to the buttons f fand passing between the legs, extend up behind and are fastened to anytwo of the buttons e, and being, if desired, joined together during a short portion of their length in the same manner as a pair of braces.

It will thus be seen that by my contrivance the object sought is attained most eff'ectually with the smallest inconvenience to the wearer and the least chance of displacement.

Practical experience with my invention has demonstrated that its virtue consists mainly in the fact that, taking the spine of the wearer as an abutment or basis, the supporter exerts an upward pressure upon the abdomen which has been found very beneficial, entirely avoiding the griping, grasping effect of present appliances.

0 Zai/m.

What I claim as my invention is as follows: The frame et, turned-down ends b, knobs c, bars d d, buttons e and f, operating in combination with the perineal straps g, substantially in the manner and for the purpose described.

MARY G. BRIGGS. Witnesses:

FRED. CURTIS, W. E. BOARDMAN. 

